Bright Blood Moon
by SuicideSquad612
Summary: When Orc Officer Nick Jakoby transfers to Vice, Daryl Ward is yet again left without a partner. When the new Sergeant suggests an unusual replacement, Ward is hesitant to accept another supernatural creature as a new partner. Especially because the LAPD's K-9 Unit no longer consisted of dogs...
1. Chapter 1

The debriefing room of the Los Angeles Police Department, Precinct 1, was a large and fairly sparse room. Four long steel tables cluttered with chairs, a podium at the front facing the tables, and several white boards filled with open cases, suspect mugshots, and maps of LA's neighborhoods hung on the wall behind the podium was all that made up the space.

Floor to ceiling windows lined the entire west side of the wall, filling the room with warm bright July sunlight. The debriefing room was K-9 Unit Ronan Trager's favorite room for that reason. Every morning he trudged through the Precinct with his head down, not making eye contact or speaking to any human as he made his way down the hall to debriefing. He was usually the first wolf to arrive, but this morning Riley and Landon were already seated at one of the tables, having a very animated conversation. When Ronan pushed through the door with his forehead, the two other wolves immediately stopped talking. They glanced at Ronan for a second, but did not bother to greet him. Ronan didn't even twitch an ear in their direction. He walked right past Riley and Landon and went to the same spot he sat in everyday. The last chair at the last table closest to the windows, the one spot that was bathed in the most sunlight. Ronan pulled out a chair and sat down with a heavy thud. Although he wanted to sit in the warmth of the direct summer sun, Ronan wore sunglasses over his eyes to nurse the colossal hangover he was trying to recover from. He sighed loudly and laid his massive head down on the cold steel table, sprawling his front legs out in either direction to deter anyone from sitting right next to him. Although it didn't really matter, all the other K-9 Unit wolves gave Ronan a wide berth.

Precinct 1 of the Los Angeles Police Department was the first to receive werewolves as a replacement for the dwindling usefulness of the German Shepherd as a police dog. These werewolves were not the same creatures described in old human fairytales and folklore. They did not exist as humans and only shifted into monsters on the full moon, they were always wolves, and they were enormous creatures. Over the centuries they had learned to live in harmony with humans, and in turn live mostly like humans themselves. They could talk just like humans, they attended school, lived in houses and apartments, drove cars, and even lived monogamously, though they still had small pack families and an Alpha male and female. Most of the wolves were bipeds, walking upright on two legs they stood at over 10 feet tall, some even taller. Although many wolves didn't wear any clothing, the LAPD's wolves wore matching black bullet proof vests with white lettering that read 'LAPD K-9 UNIT' on the back. They also wore thick leather collars around their necks where their badges hung from.

Including Ronan, there were seven K-9 Unit werewolves employed with the LAPD, and Ronan was easily the largest wolf on the force. He was the only quadruped in the group, he claimed that it felt unnatural to him to walk on two legs, although he could when he needed to, he just preferred not. Even down on all fours Ronan stood almost 7 feet tall at his shoulders, and he was built like a rhinoceros. Although there was no accurate way to get a weight on him, short of taking him to a semi truck weigh station off the Interstate, most of the veterinarians that gave the K-9's their yearly check-ups estimated that Ronan was easily 4,000 plus pounds. The other six wolves, Landon, Riley, Dexter, Quinn, Hunter and the only female wolf on the force, Layla, were all leaner and more agile looking than Ronan, which is one of the reasons Ronan assumed he hadn't had a human partner in over a year. He wasn't appealing to have as the dog protecting your six while out on patrol. Or maybe it was because of the accident he had last year with his previous partner. The accident that, no matter how many times it was reviewed and determined an accident, still earned Ronan the nickname of 'Cop Killer' and was also the main reason the other K-9 wolves didn't interact with him anymore. Ronan didn't care, he passed the point of caring months ago. Now he just focused on existing, getting through day after day functioning on some varying level of intoxication. Sergeant Hillman gave up trying to find him a new human partner months ago, she now just assigned him to the same task everyday, parking tickets and traffic violations in the LAX area.

As the four other wolves slowly made their way into the debriefing room, Ronan gazed lazily through the huge windows, looking out into the vast wasteland of Los Angeles. If he cocked his head to the right just perfectly, his line of sight made it through the tall, crumbling skyscrapers and he could see the beauty of clear, green Elftown to the west. The overwhelming heat of midsummer made everything look so lush and healthy, especially because Elftown didn't have a water usage restriction. God he wished he could walk on thick green grass, but most of LA was in ruins, thanks to the Orc gangs, the ongoing drought issues, and extreme level of poverty throughout the city. Ronan's ears twitched towards the doors, he could hear the human officers coming to collect their K-9 partners. He grumbled to himself, the humans and their wolf partners were so buddy-buddy it was disgusting. Deep down, Ronan admitted to himself that he was jealous. He had had that kind of relationship with his previous partner.

Officer John Thomas was one of the first seven people to receive a K-9 wolf partner on the force. When Ronan arrived at Precinct 1 with the six other Rookie wolves that were in his graduating class, they were all eager and excited to be partnered up with a human and start their civil servant careers. That was almost 10 years ago, and John was dead and buried for over a year now. Ronan laughed to himself, he was so naive back then. Thinking he could actually make a difference in this rotting decrepit city overrun with Orcs and self-entitled Elves.

"Alright mutts!" Sergeant Michelle Hillman called attention to the group, Ronan hadn't even realized she had entered the room. She was a sharp and disciplined woman, nothing like her predecessor Sergeant Ching was. Ronan liked Ching, she was easier to approach than Hillman. He was sad to learn that Ching had died with Hicks, Pollard, and Brown in the whole 'magic wand incident' 6 months ago. Ching always treated Ronan fairly, Sergeant Hillman always had a look of disappointment on her face when she looked at him.

"That's enough!" Hillman snapped. The other K-9 officers silenced their private conversations and gave Sergeant Hillman their full attention, Ronan didn't even bother to lift his head off the table. He was too busy watching the clouds and listening to the birds.

The K-9 Unit human officers filed into the debriefing room, found their wolves, and sat down next to them.

Sergeant Hillman addressed the room, "okay listen for your assignments, get your shotguns and radios and deploy. Clear your damn calls quickly and respond to each other for back up. There has been lots of gang activity recently, Fogteeth and the 18th Street have been causing shit with each other. Wear your vests, even though its fucking hot as hell. Officer Samuels and Landon, Sun Valley. Officer Kent and Riley, Santa Monica. Davidson and Quinn, Hollywood." Ronan tuned her out and went back to daydreaming. He knew his assignment already. His head was pounding and he was trying hard to keep the room from spinning. In retrospect, he probably should have stopped at 2 bottles of tequila.

"Trager! Trager! RONAN!" He jerked back into reality finally at the sound of his name being shouted. Ronan lifted his sunglasses onto his forehead and addressed his superior.

"Sergeant?" He still didn't bother to lift his head off the table, or stand at attention for that matter, displaying his defiance for authority in front of the rest of the Unit.

Hillman gave him a pointed look. "I thought you'd like to meet your new partner."

Now he did lift his head off the table and cocked it slightly, just like a confused dog. "New partner?" Hillman nodded slowly. The rest of the room was silent and staring at Ronan. "Deploy!" Hillman barked. The officers and wolves immediately moved in a flurry, gathering their paperwork and belongings.

The room began to empty as humans and wolves filed out the door, discussing how they spent their weekends and what their assignments entailed for the day. When the last pair exited the debriefing room and only Ronan and Sergeant Hillman remained, she addressed him again.

"A senior Uni lost his partner to Vice last week, he seemed like a good fit for you." Hillman pulled the door open and in walked an officer Ronan had seen before. He was the one that had the Orc as a partner. Ronan tried to hide his look of disappointment and surprise, but it was clear both Hillman and this Officer saw his response. This was the last person he thought they would give him as a partner. Actually, the second to last. If they ever tried to pair him with the Orc, he would commit murder.

"Officer Daryl Ward, meet your new partner. K-9 Unit Ronan Trager."

Ronan sighed deeply and pushed the chair away from the table with a loud scrape. He dropped down to his front paws and sauntered over to Ward. He was a good 2 feet taller than the man, and that made him happy. Ward took a hesitant step backward as Ronan approached, a little too close for comfort for the human apparently. Ronan loved intimidating everyone he encountered.

Daryl Ward gave Ronan a once over, and then seemed to regain his composure, laughing with a cocky smirk. "Big mother fucker ain't you?"

Ronan didn't respond, he just stood his ground glaring daggers at Ward. Hillman spoke up, trying to ease some of the tension between the two. "Ward, he's the best dog on the force. You're lucky to have him. Ronan, behave yourself. Unless you want to write parking tickets for the rest of your life, Officer Ward here is your last chance to be back on full patrol."

Ronan growled, "fine."

Ward squared his shoulders and made himself look as tall as possible. "A'ight. This ain't my first rodeo with weird. Let's see if the mutt is any smarter than the Orc was." He turned on his heel and headed out the debriefing room door.

Ronan paused before following out the door, he turned to Hillman with a snarl, "if this guy turns out to be a jackass, I'm handing in my resignation." He pushed through the door and followed his new partner down the hall, less than enthusiastic about the situation he found himself stuck in. At that moment, he wished for nothing but a quiet routine day writing parking tickets at the airport.

Ward looked over his shoulder to address his new partner, who was in no hurry to catch up with him. "So you walk on all fours huh? Isn't that sort of weird for your kind?"

Ronan didn't make eye contact, he just kept walking, slow and leisurely. It was already starting to irritate Ward, he could tell. "I walk the way nature intended us to walk, I can do the biped thing when I feel like it."

"So what do you prefer? Trager? Ronan?"

"Ronan is fine."

"Alright, well you can call me Ward. Only my Momma and my wife get to call me Daryl."

Ronan snorted obstinately, "Sure thing."

They stopped at the weapons dispensary to pick up their shotguns and radios, and then headed to the garage to find their car for the day. As they exited the building the heat of the second week of July hit them in the face like a brick wall. The forecast said the high for the day was expected to be 97 degrees, with the humidity reaching an unbreathable level.

They found their car quickly, eager to get the air conditioning started. "You gonna fit in this truck? No offense but you're kind of enormous." Ward tried to make the comment sound snarky, but he was honestly concerned that the wolf wouldn't fit in the SUV.

Ronan snarled at Ward, "yeah I'll fit." He flipped his sunglasses back over his eyes to shield them from the blinding sun and opened the passenger side door. Ronan reclined the seat as far back as it would go, and maneuvered himself in. It was a tight fit, and he had to sit kind of awkwardly, but there was no way he was going to ride in the backseat like some kind of pet dog.

Ward watched him curiously for a moment, before jumping into the driver's seat. He started the engine with a roar, and Ronan immediately rolled the window completely down and rested his head on the sill, nose hanging out the open window. He had every intention of sleeping off the rest of his hangover.

Ward shook his head and pulled out of the police headquarters. He cranked the air on full blast, it came out stinking and hot for a few minutes, before finally starting to cool down. Ward figured the wolf would get the hint once he felt the cold of the air conditioning and roll his window back up, but the car was old, and the air conditioning would need a few minutes to get working well. Ward turned east onto 1st street.

"I got a beat I patrol everyday." He spoke loudly, hoping to catch Ronan's attention. "First we hit the Gardens, and then we do a lap around the Heights. I do it in a different pattern everyday. Keeps the neighborhoods on their toes."

Ronan twitched his ears in the wind, but did not respond. They drove in silence for a long while, giving Ward a chance to finally give his partner a good once over. This wolf they gave him, this beast that he was supposed to trust his life with, was surprisingly kind of fat. At first Ward thought he was just fluffy, he had longer fur than the other wolves on the force, so Ward thought the extra hair just gave him a bulkier appearance. But now seeing Ronan up close, he was indeed overweight, probably from his year of doing nothing but cruising around and writing parking tickets day after day. He was the most brilliant obsidian black Ward had ever seen. So dark in fact that his coat almost shined in the sunlight. Not a single hair on the animal was faded or a lighter shade. Ward guessed that was a rarity in the werewolves, because Ronan was the first all black wolf he'd ever seen. The other wolves on the force were of varying colors. Riley was just your generic grey and white, that was the most common coat color it seemed. Quinn was a chocolate brown, Dexter was like a charcoal and white, Hunter was a rusty red and white, and then Landon and Layla, although they were not related in any way, were both pure white wolves.

Ronan must have sensed Ward criticizing him. "If you stare long enough I might do a trick for you." He mumbled.

Ward rolled his eyes, "Sorry. It's just that I've never really been up close and personal with a werewolf before."

Ronan lifted his head and peered at Ward over the rim of his sunglasses, "you scared?"

Ward scoffed, "I'm not scared of no damn dog. Just a little uneasy that I have four thousand pounds of teeth and claws riding shotgun with me."

Ronan shifted in his seat and laid his head back down on the open window. "Well trust me. I'm no more excited about this situation than you are."

Ward cocked a confused eyebrow at him, "aren't you hot? I've got the a/c going."

"I like the fresh air." Ronan stated flatly.

Ward shook his head in silent amusement. "Alright well first thing I do is stop for a burrito at Alonzo's, you want anything?"

"Nnhf" Ronan huffed. Ward didn't bother asking if that was a yes or a no. Seeing the size of this wolf, Ward assumed that Ronan would never say no to food.

He pulled right into a empty street spot in front of Alonzo's and jumped out of the SUV.

"Goddamn it's hot!" Ward said to no one in particular. He wiped sweat off his forehead.

"I'll be back in 5." He called to Ronan. The wolf didn't respond, he figured he had fallen asleep.

Ward entered the small Mexican take-out restaurant just as a huge Orc dressed in all black was walking out. They rubbed elbows for a moment, but Ward didn't even give him a second thought. Just as Ward walked up to the empty counter to begin his order, an explosion of barking and snarling erupted from outside. He turned back towards the door just in time to see his brand new 4,000 pound werewolf partner scrambling out of the open door of the SUV and barrel down the sidewalk at a full gallop after the Orc that had just left Alonzo's. Ronan's sunglasses layed dropped and forgotten in the middle of the sidewalk.

"What in the holy mother of hell!?" Ward shouted as he pushed through the restaurant door.

"Trager what the fuck are you doing!?" He screamed after the dog, but Ronan was too far down the street already. Ward jumped back into the car, flipped on the pursuit lights and sirens and slammed on the gas, chasing his new wolf partner and whatever Orc he was chasing down the street. The reason why he was involved in this pursuit was still a mystery to him.

Ward got on the car's radio and called dispatch. "Unit 3 Adam 9, K-9 in foot pursuit of Orc southbound on Palm Valley Blvd."

Dispatch responded, informing they were sending back up.

Ward switched channels on the radio, hoping that Ronan would enlighten him as to why they were chasing this Orc. "Trager copy!" He shouted into the mouthpiece of the car's radio.

No response, Ward tried again. "Ronan! What the hell are you chasing that Orc for!?" Still nothing.

Ward finally caught up as close as he could to Ronan and the Orc, but traffic was too heavy to cut in front of them and stop the pursuit.

Ward could do nothing but follow as close as possible, weaving in and out of traffic and informing dispatch of Ronan's and the Orc's movements.

Ward had to admit, the wolf was an impressive creature. The Orc he was chasing was fast, but considering Ronan's size, he was keeping up rather well, especially in this extreme heat. They were nearing 3 miles of all out sprinting and Ronan was not letting up, he had to be close to crapping out. As jet black as he was, absorbing all the hot sunlight into his fur, on top of wearing the heavy bulletproof vest with all his gear attached to it. Ward couldn't see Ronan lasting much longer at this pace. The Orc made a sharp right down an alley and Ronan didn't miss a beat.

"Shit!" Ward made a screeching turn down the next side street to keep up.

"Unit 3 Adam 9, K-9 foot pursuit turned east down Palmetto Street alley."

Dispatch responded with a, "copy, back up enroute."

Ward chucked the radio mouthpiece into the truck's console, "well where the fuck are they!?" He cursed at no one.

They were nearing 6 miles of chasing. There was no way that Ronan could keep this pace up much longer in this heat. Ward could catch short glimpses of Ronan still on the Orc's heels through the backyards and fences that separated the road he was on from the alley. Finally, just ahead, Ward spotted an exit driveway for the alley. He slammed on the gas and turned into it just enough to stay hidden behind the last garage in the alley.

He scrambled for the mouthpiece and switched the channel back to Ronan's private radio. "Okay Ronan listen to me. Just before the Orc comes up to this last garage give a good loud howl and I'll cut him off."

Ward didn't expect a response. He threw the radio onto the passenger seat and gripped the steering wheel with both hands, foot ready to slam on the gas the moment he heard Ronan's howl. Sweat poured down his face and neck, Ward was thoroughly concerned that Ronan was going to die of a heart attack if he kept running at this pace. A wave of panic surged through Ward at the thought that maybe Ronan didn't hear his instructions. But a split second later a thunderous howl echoed through the air and Ward slammed on the gas pedal, launching the SUV forward into the middle of the alley. His plan worked perfectly, the Orc and the truck collided and the suspect went flying over the hood of the SUV. Ronan followed still, leaping over the car hood and tackling the Orc, who was already trying to stand and continue to run. Four thousand pounds of solid killer werewolf landed dead center on the Orc's back. Ronan flattened his suspect into the ground, and was still for a long moment before attempting to move.

Ward threw the car into park and jumped out as fast as he could. He already had his handcuffs off his belt, ready to take their running Orc into custody. With an incredible amount of effort, Ronan managed to roll off the Orc and land in the dead grass of the front yard they had ended their pursuit in. He was dry heaving and gasping for air so hard it sounded like he was suffocating.

Ward cuffed the Orc rather harshly and gave him a good kick in the back. "I can have my gun out in 3 seconds, don't even think about moving."

He went to Ronan, who was laying practically unconscious and breathing very erratically. Ward was seriously concerned that Ronan was at risk of dying from heat stroke. The car's thermostat read 96 degrees when Ward jumped out of the truck, and this enormous wolf who hadn't been on any beat patrol for over a year just ran nearly 7 miles at a dead gallop. By sheer luck, the house that they were currently occupying the front yard of had a garden hose coiled up next to the long dead flower beds.

Ward ran for it and turned the spigot on full blast. "Fuck the water restrictions" he growled.

He clenched the hose off and ran back to Ronan. Ward opened the hose, letting the water hit right on top of Ronan's head, drenching him in cold crisp hydration. "Hey! Hey! Ronan c'mon man. Wake up!" He slapped the wolf's neck a few times in an attempt to bring the animal around. Ronan sputtered and gasped for air, but did not fully regain consciousness.

Ward sighed with worry. "C'mon big man, let's get this vest off." Ward started unsnapping Ronan's heavy bullet proof vest and pulling apart velcro when the Orc started to wiggle and roll around a few feet away.

"Hey!" Ward all but scream shouted. "What the fuck did I tell you about moving!?" He pulled Ronan's cuffs off his vest and secured them around the Orc's ankles. "Try and move now you mother fucker."

Ward turned his attention back to his new partner who was in extremely dire condition. Somehow he managed to maneuver the vest completely off of Ronan's enormous body and tossed it aside. He moved the hose from the wolf's head and neck down to his shoulders and back, saturating his thick black fur with cold water as much as he could. Ronan's breathing slowed a little, but he was still delirious and unresponsive.

"We gotta get you out of the sun big man." Ward slapped the wolf's head hard a few times. "C'mon Ronan, wake up." Still nothing.

Finally, as if an eternity passed by, their back up casually rolled up in front of the yard they were currently occupying.

"Call an ambulance and get a veterinarian out here!" Ward screamed to the first uniformed officer he saw. He didn't even comprehend who he was yelling at, he was too focused on keeping Ronan drenched with water. He sensed movement next to him and turned to see Landon, the white wolf, down on all fours next to Ronan's head.

"What happened?" Landon muttered quietly.

Ward turned his attention back to Ronan. "He chased that Orc for damn near 7 miles in this heat. I think he's having a stroke."

Ward moved from slapping Ronan's neck and head to full on hitting him. "Ronan!" He shouted at the wolf. "Wake up man!" Ronan's eyes fluttered open for a moment and he groaned loudly.

"We have to get him out of this sun," he spoke at Landon without turning towards him. "I can soak him in all the water in the world, but this sun is killing him with how black he is."

Landon stood up and gave a sharp whistle. "Riley, Dexter, get over here!" The two other wolves trotted over to Landon. Ward looked up to see 4 more squad cars pull up to their position. He quickly scanned their immediate area for anywhere shady they could move Ronan to.

"There." Ward pointed towards a window awning about 8 feet from where Ronan was laying now that gave just enough shade to get the critically ill wolf out of the direct sunlight.

Landon, Riley, and Dexter grabbed Ronan's collar and the scruff of his shoulders.

"One-two-three!" Landon counted off, and the 3 wolves heaved and dragged Ronan's dead weight body the 8 short feet into the tiny shaded spot. Ward never stopped drenching him with water from the hose. These people were going to get an outrageous fine for inappropriate water usage. He'd deal with that later, Ward said to himself. Ronan's life was more important right now.

The familiar 'whoop whoop' of the ambulance finally arrived and Ward managed to breathe a small sigh of relief.

"The vet is here!" Landon yelled to Ward.

A young woman in blue scrubs carrying a large duffel bag and a oxygen tank scurried over to where Ronan laid, still mostly unresponsive.

"That's good Officer, keep soaking him" the vet encouraged Ward. She pulled an oxygen mask out of her bag, hooked it up to the tank and strapped the mask over Ronan's mouth and nose.

Next she clipped a pulse oximeter to one of Ronan's toes. She clicked her tongue when the little screen gave her a read out. "84, that's really low." She cranked the oxygen tank up to full blast.

She pulled a thermometer out of her front scrub pocket and dipped it in a small tube of lubricant. "Considering he is practically completely unconscious right now and this is the fastest way to get a body temperature, I don't think he'll mind."

She moved towards Ronan's back end and lifted his tail. The wolf didn't even flinch when the vet inserted the thermometer into his rectum.

That made Ward worry even more. If a stick up his butt didn't get a reaction out of the beast, what would?

"Keep drenching his body," the vet coached. "Especially around his heart and lungs."

The thermometer beeped and the vet extracted it from his rear end. "109.3, that's very bad. The hose isn't cooling him off fast enough, he needs an IV right now. Wilson, O'Malley get over here!" The vet shouted for the two human paramedics to come assist her. "You can stop with the hose now Officer, I'm going to put double IV's in him."

Ward reached over to the spigot that was now only a foot away and cut off the water. He tossed the hose aside to give the vet and medics more room to work.

"Is — is he gonna die?" Ward could barely choke out the word.

The vet turned to him, she looked concerned. "Honestly, I don't know. He's in pretty critical condition. He could have permanent brain damage if we don't get his body temperature down soon."

Ward turned away from Ronan's limp body as the paramedics and vet worked on inserting IV's into both of his front legs.

"Hey," the vet called back to Ward. He turned to face her, clearly she was aggravated at him. "What the hell were you thinking anyway? Running this animal like that in this heat? Especially with how heavy and out of shape he is!?"

Ward practically saw red. "I didn't do this. He took off by himself." His voice was low and menacing.

"After who?" Landon spoke up. "This Orc?"

Ward had been so panicked about Ronan that he had completely forgotten about the Orc the wolf had chased down for 7 miles. His eyes scanned the spot he last left the Orc. He found the pig skinned trash now upright, seated on the curb next to a squad car, his ankles and wrists were still cuffed.

Ward charged toward the Orc and kicked him hard square in the back. The Orc fell forward off the curb. "You piece of shit mother fucker! If you're the reason my dog dies I'll kill you myself!"

The Orc did nothing but laugh.

"Get an ID off this asshole. He got a wallet?" It was Sergeant Hillman who spoke.

Ward was surprised to see her. "Sergeant, I didn't know you were here."

She smiled stiffly at Ward, "well when you hear about a 7 mile foot pursuit and no reason given for it, that's something you gotta check out. Grab his wallet Landon." She called to the white wolf. Landon pulled the Orc back up onto the curb and fished his wallet out of the pocket of his pants.

He opened the folded leather and read the name on the ID out loud. "Julio King." Landon paused and cocked his head. "Julio King" he said again, "why does that name sound so familiar?"

It was Sergeant Hillman that answered, "because Julio King is the biggest Orc crime boss in all of LA. Drugs, guns, pussy, you name it, Julio King controls it. We've been after this asshole for over 5 years, and he always manages to slip away." Hillman shook her head in amazement. "Julio fucking King. Not so elusive now, are you douchebag?"

Hillman sighed long and loud, she spoke again, this time with utter shock in her voice. "First day back on patrol and the fat ass catches Julio King." She laughed shortly. "He did that to spite me." She turned to face Ronan, who was still laying in the same spot, unmoving, while the vet and paramedics continued to work on him. "You better not die Trager" she said softly, almost pleading with Ronan to fight. She sniffed hard like she was fighting back tears and turned back to the Orc and Landon.

"Confirm his identity with prints and DNA, and if this is really Julio King, you and your brand new mutt just won the Commendation of the Year award."

Hillman paused again and sighed, "that is, if he lives."

Ward's heart sank. The Sergeant really thought Ronan wasn't going to live. He turned to walk back to his new partner, who in the first hour of their first shift together had already proven himself 10 times over as an exemplary K-9. Ward listened vaguely as Hillman barked orders at the other Officers and wolves to 'get this place cleared out' and 'get that pigface back to the station and processed'. Ward knew he should be the one to process King, but he couldn't bare to leave Ronan's side.

He knelt in the soaked dead grass next to Ronan's head and watched his breathing, it was shallow and rapid. He didn't listen to the vet and paramedic's medical banter back and forth, he didn't want to know if Ronan was slipping away.

As Ward watched his new companion struggle for air, he couldn't stop himself from reaching out and petting the wolf's massive head. If Ronan was conscious and he tried to do this, he probably would have gotten his hand bitten off. But with his prognosis so unsure, at that moment, petting Ronan's head felt like the right thing to do.

"Please live, big man. Please live" was all Ward could say.


	2. Chapter 2

An annoying beeping from somewhere over his head was finally successful at pulling Ronan back into consciousness. It took a surprising amount of effort to pry his eyes open, but he managed finally. He moved his eyes around slowly to take in his surroundings. Plain white walls, machines and tubes everywhere, Ronan determined he was in a hospital room of some sort. He groaned and shifted around in the tiny bed he was shoved in. The bed creaked and complained under his weight, Ronan decided it was best to stay still. His movement made the other occupant in the room stir. Ronan hadn't even noticed Ward sleeping in the uncomfortable visitor's chair a few feet from his bed. He had a light blanket thrown over him, and his neck was bent at a very uncomfortable angle. Ward looked disheveled, his face covered in stubble, bags under his eyes, and his uniform shirt unbuttoned and wrinkled. Ronan wondered why Ward looked so haggard, but his brain was very foggy and slow moving. Honestly, Ronan couldn't even remember a reason why he would be in the hospital, hooked up to IV's and 5 different monitors. He opened his mouth and licked his lips, his throat was dry and his mouth was sticky. He wanted to talk, but he wasn't sure if he could accomplish such a task.

"War —" he choked on the dryness in his throat, coughing hard.

That was enough to wake Ward from his slumber. "Oh my God." Ward jumped up from his chair, his blanket fell to the ground in a heap. "Holy shit, you're awake!" He hit the Nurse call button on the wall and went to Ronan's bedside. "Can you talk? Can you think? Or are you a turnip?"

Ronan cleared his throat loudly, "water." He said to Ward, barely above a whisper.

Ward jumped like he had just heard the word of God. "You can talk! You're not a vegetable!"

Ronan swallowed painfully and attempted to lift his head off the bed. "Wat —"

"Yes, water!" Ward cut him off. He disappeared into the small bathroom for a moment, and came back with a bowl full of cold water. Ward held the bowl up to the bed as Ronan struggled to keep his head upright while he lapped up the blissfully magnificent liquid. He emptied the bowl and let his head collapse back down onto the pillow. He sighed deeply, now feeling slightly better, but still very slow and foggy, almost like he was drunk. Did he give himself alcohol poisoning? Is that why he was here?

A cute blonde nurse entered the room, "Did you need something, Officer?"

Ward pointed down at Ronan in the bed. "He's awake and talking. Can you get the doctor?"

She nodded at Ward and scurried out of the room quickly. Ward grabbed his chair and pulled it right up to the bed next to Ronan's head. "Jesus Christ man, you gave us all one hell of a scare."

Ronan swallowed hard again, he was having difficulty forming thoughts and words. "I don't know — remember. Why am I here?"

Ward rubbed his hands together anxiously. He rested his elbows on his knees and sighed, looking at Ronan with deep concern etched across his face. "Do you not remember anything man?"

Ronan shook his head slowly, it was beginning to become difficult to keep his eyes open.

Ward exhaled loudly, "you had a massive heat stroke, Ronan. You've been in a coma for 3 days."

Ronan stared at Ward blankly, he tried hard to remember what happened, racking his brain for any clue that would jog his memory. Nothing.

"Oh." Was all he managed to come up with as a response.

Ward shook his head in disbelief. "You don't remember any of it? The 7 mile chase in 100 degree heat? Julio King?"

The name hit Ronan's brain like a freight train. "Juilo King." He repeated back to Ward. Like a furious flash of lightning, Ronan's mind was flooded with the memory of the day.

"Julio fucking King." He said again. "Last thing I remember is jumping over the car and tackling him to the ground." He looked at Ward frantically, "did you get him? Was it really Julio King?"

Ward smiled, thankful that the wolf's mental faculties were returning. "Yeah you got him, and it was Julio King."

Ronan breathed a long sigh of relief.

"How did you know? One minute you were dead to the world hungover in the rig, the next you're chasing down Julio King at a dead gallop for 7 miles." Ward's voice sounded amazed.

Ronan shifted around in the ridiculously tiny bed again, he was getting uncomfortable. It groaned, threatening to collapse on him. "I've had his scent before. Pursued him a couple times with my previous partner, but he always managed to disappear."

Ward nodded, "John Thomas. He was a good guy. Good cop."

Ronan snorted, "so I guess you know what they call me then? What my nickname around the Precinct is?"

Ward rubbed the palms of his hands over his tired face. "Yeah, I've heard whispers of what they call you."

"Cop Killer." Ronan uttered flatly. "You can say it. It's true after all. I am responsible for John Thomas's death."

Ward shifted in his chair, "Ronan you can't believe that. I read the final report. What happened to John Thomas was an accident, plain and simple. You had no control over what happened."

Ronan shook his head sadly, "it doesn't matter. A human died on my watch, I am responsible."

Ward intended to continue pressing Ronan about what happened to his former partner, but a knock at the door stopped him.

"Hello in there." The Neurologist, Dr. Burke entered Ronan's room. "I hear our patient is awake and talking."

Ronan lifted his head to get a look at the Doctor. "Yup, I'm not a turnip."

Dr. Burke laughed softly. "I can see that. Ronan I am Dr. Preston Burke, I've been your Neurologist while you've been napping on us for the past 3 days."

Ronan snorted, "Yeah sorry about that. Apparently I kicked my own ass pretty good."

Dr. Burke smiled at him, "well we're just happy you are awake and seemingly functional now. We have to do some Neurological tests on you, and make sure all your organ function is where it should be, and then hopefully we can get you out of here in a few days."

"Days!?" Ronan yelped. "Doc, c'mon. I'm awake, I'm talking. Unhook me from all the robots and I'll even get up and walk for you! Let me get out of here by tomorrow at least!"

Dr. Burke shook his head. "I'm sorry Ronan, you suffered a catastrophic brain injury. You are not leaving this hospital until you pass every test I run on you." Burke's voice was stern and authoritative, it left little room for argument.

Ronan dropped his head back down on the bed, defeated. "Fine," he grumbled. "But if I'm staying here for a few more days, we gotta do something about this bed. I feel like I'm shoved in a shoe box."

"We can fix that." Burke replied. "I'll have a nurse come to take you for an MRI, and then we can work on getting you unhooked from some of this stuff." He gestured to all the tubes and machines cluttered around Ronan's bed.

Ronan sighed deeply. "Thanks Doc."

Dr. Burke turned to Ward, "any questions Officer?"

Ward shook his head, "I'm just glad he's awake and talking."

Burke nodded in agreement, "a nurse will be in for him shortly." And with that, Dr. Burke exited the room.

There was a long pause of silence before Ward dared to tread on another sensitive subject. "There is no emergency contact in your personal file."

Ronan did not meet Ward's eyes. "That's because I have no one to contact in case of an emergency. Mom's in a nursing home, she can barely remember her own name most days, let alone recognize her only son. She's my only living relative."

Ward frowned at Ronan's answer. "What about a member of your pack?"

Ronan bark laughed, "what pack? Remember that whole 'Cop Killer' thing we were just talking about? You take a human's life, you are permanently banished from any pack."

His confession left Ward speechless. Ward decided not to press the John Thomas issue again for now, Ronan looked exhausted and irritated.

Ronan finally met Ward's eyes after he didn't respond. "Have you been here the whole 3 days I was out?"

Ward smiled at the wolf, "Mostly. I went home a couple times and Sergeant Hillman came and sat with you. Landon stopped by a couple times too."

Ronan growled, "what the hell did Landon want?"

Ward sat up straight in his chair, surprised at Ronan's response. "He just wanted to see how you were doing. Him and Samuels were our first back up to arrive on the scene. He sat next to you while we waited for the ambulance while you were stroking out."

Ronan fidgeted in the bed and snarled. "Asshole, he was probably just trying to clear his own conscience. Let himself off the hook guilt free."

Ward shook his head, confused. "What the hell does that mean, Ronan?"

The wolf blew out a long frustrated breath. "Just more shit from the past Ward, don't worry about it. You should go home, get some real sleep. You look like shit."

As if on cue, four nurses came into the room. "We're here to take you for your MRI now, Ronan." The cute blonde from earlier announced. The other nurses began gathering up his IV's and heart monitor leads. They unlocked the bed and started to roll him towards the door.

"Seriously Ward," Ronan shouted back to his new partner, "go home, and don't come back until you've had a solid 12 hours of sleep."

As Ronan was pushed out of his hospital room, Ward stood there, confused and unnerved by the conversation they just had. He sighed with frustration, collected his phone and wallet off the small bedside table, left Ronan's room and headed towards the parking garage of the Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center.

/

Ronan woke the next morning much easier. His brain was considerably less foggy and slow. The nurses had made him a makeshift bed on the floor, taking two mattresses off of hospital beds and setting them side by side. Ronan glanced around the room and found the visitors chair in the corner of the room, empty. He figured Ward wouldn't be back. They hadn't even been partners for a full day, he had no obligation to stand vigil by his side in the hospital. A soft clicking near his head caught his attention. Ronan looked up to find Ward sitting on the ground next to him, playing on his phone. With his back against the wall, legs stretched out and crossed at his ankles, Ward was clean shaven, in fresh clothes, and looking considerably rested.

Ronan smiled to himself. Ward was a strange human, acting so loyal to a him when they barely knew each other.

Ronan watched him for a moment, Ward hadn't noticed he was awake yet. "I heard a crazy rumor about you being a Bright."

Ward sighed and set his phone down in his lap. "Well that's the thing about rumors, most of them are crazy."

Ronan cocked a doubtful eyebrow at him, "so you did not touch a wand and kill an Inferni Elf, and live to tell the tale?"

Ward stared at the wolf, stunned.

Ronan shrugged his shoulders, "your Orc's got a big mouth."

Ward was silent for a long moment, he rubbed his hands over his head anxiously. "What happened that day is completely confidential Ronan, I can't speak a word about it. Homeland Security gag ordered us."

Ronan snorted out a laugh "sure working on the Orc who has the nerve to call himself a Cop."

"You listen to me, you fat ass mutt. Nick Jakoby is one hell of a Cop." Ward's spine stiffened and he pointed at Ronan fiercely. "You have no idea what happened that day and what we went through."

Ronan smirked at him. "I'm sensing this is a sensitive subject for you."

Ward huffed, "yeah, just like John Thomas is for you."

Now it was Ronan's turn to get defensive. "You know nothing about John Thomas" he growled.

A heavy knock on the hospital room door interrupted their tense argument. Ronan lifted his head towards the door and in barged none other than the pigface Cop himself.

"Hey guys," Nick addressed Ward and Ronan. "I thought you might appreciate some real food and coffee, rather than that hospital crap." He was carrying a cup holder filled with coffees and a few brown paper bags filled with McDonald's.

Ronan growled lowly, he turned his head away from Ward and Nick.

"Shit man, thanks" Ward lifted himself off the ground. "The coffee is horrible here."

"Ronan," Nick called to the wolf, but he refused to turn and face him. "Breakfast burrito?

Sausage McMuffin?"

Ronan was still and silent, trying desperately to keep control over his temper.

"Hey Trager, Nick brought food. I thought you'd enjoy that." Ward called to the wolf through a mouthful of burrito.

Ronan's shoulders tensed and he slowly and painfully lifted his exhausted body off the mattresses. His snarl filled the room, it was loud and menacing. With IV's in both front legs, heart rate probes stuck to his chest, and a pulse reader attached to a toe, Ronan stood his full 7 feet tall and glared down at Nick Jakoby with a fire of hatred in his eyes.

"What I would appreciate, Ward" Ronan was spitting venom, "is for the pig skin grunt to get. out. of my room."

Ward and Nick stared at the wolf in shock.

"Ronan" Ward whispered. "What's your problem man?"

"My problem is that thing in my room. You can go too Ward, seeing as he's your bff."

The monitor started beeping erratically, Ronan's heart rate and blood pressure were steadily climbing through the roof. "He killed her, and him. He killed both of them, it's his fault."

"Ronan what are talking abou—"

"Daryl," Nick muttered softly. "I don't think he's all there. I think he's hallucinating."

Ward slowly inched towards the nurse call button on the wall. Ronan turned on him, teeth bared and snarling like a wild animal. He managed to hit the button with the tip of his finger before the wolf roared at him like a grizzly bear. The windows rattled and a glass of water fell off the bedside table with a clatter.

Nick and Ward both jumped back a few feet, now very aware that they were stuck in a very small room with a very large hallucinating werewolf.

The vitals monitor was now screaming with urgency. Ronan's heart rate leaped higher and higher. Hospital security must have heard the ferocity of the roar, because they came barreling into the room a moment later, tranquilizer guns out and ready. Ronan turned on security and lunged forward. The guards put 4 darts into his chest before Ronan finally collapsed, the monitors continued to screech and squeal with alarm. Ronan heard muffled commotion in the room as it spun around him. He held onto consciousness as hard as he could.

The last thing Ronan saw was the cute blonde nurse, Katie was her name he had learned, sticking a syringe into his IV and pumping more medicine into his veins. Then his world went black.

/

"He had a massive hallucinogenic episode." Dr. Burke spoke softly to Ward and Nick as they stood just outside of Ronan's room.

Ward bark laughed, "yeah, I'll fucking say he did. The question is why?"

Dr. Burke inhaled deeply. "Because of the heat stroke, Ronan's brain is chemically imbalanced. We've been trying to correct it with the IV's and medication, but it takes time. It has to be done slowly and carefully so we don't go from one extreme to another."

"What does that mean?" Nick questioned curiously.

"It means that right now Ronan's brain is depleted from the stroke. He is lacking all the chemicals he needs to function properly. If we medicate him too quickly, we could end up overdosing his brain, and that would kill him."

Ward nodded slowly, taking in the Doctor's explanation. "So his reaction to Nick triggered the hallucination?"

"Most likely," Burke answered. "Has Ronan had any traumatic experiences with Orcs?"

Ward snorted back a laugh. "Yeah, a few."

Burke smiled. "So Ronan had an extremely low sodium level this morning. Sodium is one of the main things that controls our brain function. It is likely that seeing Nick triggered the memory part of his brain, and because he is so chemically imbalanced, the only memories that came up were negative ones, which is what caused the hallucination."

"So how is he now?" Nick asked.

"He's sedated right now, and we are slowly working on bringing up his sodium level. Hopefully in the next 24 hours that will be stable and no more hallucinations."

Ward and Nick went quiet, absorbing the information they were just given.

"Any other questions gentlemen?" Burke offered.

They both shook their heads.

"Well, I think it's best to just leave him for the rest of the day. He'll be sedated all day, and he's in restraints now too. Though with him, I don't think they'll do much."

Ward snort laughed again, "yeah, you're definitely right about that."

Burke chuckled as well, "go home Officers. Come back tomorrow. He'll be better in the morning."


	3. Chapter 3

**Enjoying the story so far? Please leave me some feedback so I know how I'm doing! I've got a pretty deep storyline going for this, along with a mini prequel of Ronan's beginnings and his first years with Officer John Thomas...just let me know what you think! Should I keep going? Thanks!**

/

Ten days after his week long stint in the hospital, Ronan entered Precinct 1 of the LAPD yet again.

'Mandatory personal leave' they called it. The truth was nobody trusted him to come back to work just yet. Word spread of his mental breakdowns in the hospital around the Precinct like wildfire. God damn Nick Jakoby and his big mouth. He had had four more episodes of hallucinations after the first initial one where he almost killed Ward and Nick. He didn't remember much of them. Lots of violence and darts shot into his chest. He broke out of at least a dozen sets of restraints.

In his lucid moments Ward told him he had nearly bitten the cute nurse Katie's arm off. He felt horrible and wanted to apologize to her, but he never saw her again. Dr. Burke struggled to get his sodium levels stable, he blamed it on Ronan's weight. It took days to get his hallucinations under control. After he was finally released from the hospital, Officer Samuels and Landon, and Officer Nicholson and Dexter drove him home. Ward was nowhere to be found that day. Internal Affairs met him at the front of Ronan's apartment building and informed him of the mandatory leave. Per Dr. Burke's orders, he was supposed to follow a very strict diet and hydration schedule, which he did mostly, just supplemented with tequila and tons of take out.

So Ronan sat on his ass watching horrible daytime TV for ten agonizing days. Truthfully, he needed the recovery time, and now that he was back at work he would probably have benefitted from a little reconditioning and a work-out routine. But no one offered or asked if he needed any help, and he certainly wasn't going to admit to any weakness. He walked down the hall to debriefing with a little limp in his step. Besides the heat stroke, he had ripped up his paws pretty good from running on concrete for 7 solid miles.

Ronan heard the whispering behind his back, he ignored it, including the stares. He came to the debriefing room and pushed the door open with his head, like he had a thousand times before.

But for the first time ever, he entered the room and it was not deserted like usual. The Precinct's debriefing room was stuffed with uniformed officers from every department, along with wolves and superiors. They all stood when Ronan entered the room and began applauding, cheering, and shouting congratulations to the wolf. Several officers slapped him on the back. Quinn and Hunter both congratulated him, the first words they had spoken to Ronan in over a year.

"What in the hell is going on?" Ronan muttered to himself quietly. No one could have heard him over all the cheering.

Sergeant Hillman seemed to recognize his confusion and answered his question. "Alright! Alright!" She shouted over the room. "Hail the conquering hero, Ronan Trager! Who single handedly took down the most ruthless crime boss in LA, Julio King!" The room erupted with more applause and cheering.

Ronan could do nothing but stare at the room full of people congratulating him with what was probably the stupidest shocked expression on his face. Days ago more than half of the people and wolves in this room hadn't spoken a word to him in over a year, and the other half called him 'Cop Killer' behind his back. Now they stood here calling him hero, he was a little overwhelmed honestly.

Hillman slammed her hands on the podium to regain the room's attention. "Okay, that's enough! Get back to work! Anyone who is not part of the K-9 Unit clear out!"

The applauding died down and the chatter lessened as the debriefing room emptied slowly. Wolves and their human partners took their seats while Hillman spoke with the other superiors for a few moments.

Nick was one of the last to file out of the debriefing room. He stopped in front of Ronan and offered him a quick smile. "I'm glad you're finally feeling better Ronan. I hope you don't want to kill me anymore."

Ronan struggled to maintain eye contact with Nick. Cop or not, wolves despised Orcs. "Yeah thanks Nick," he snorted uncomfortably. "And not today anyway, but you never know, it's early still."

Nick laughed at the threat, thinking it was a joke. What a dumbass, Ronan couldn't help but growl under his breath.

There was an awkward moment of silence between them before Nick finally spoke again. "Well, you take care of Ward. He's a good cop, and my best friend." He nodded to Ronan, and then again to someone behind him. Ronan turned to discover Ward sitting in his favorite spot, the last chair at the last table. The wolf's eyes brighten up a little, he was thoroughly surprised to see Ward sitting there waiting for him. He limped over to his new partner and pulled out the chair next to him.

"I never thought I'd see you again." Ronan declared.

Ward smiled at him. "Nah, after that stunt you pulled, you're stuck with me now big man." He scrutinized Ronan with furrowed brows. "What's a matter? You hurtin'?"

Ronan groaned a little as he took a seat next to Ward. "Paws are still a little sore from all the running. My fat ass ripped them up good." He looked down at the pads of his front paws, they were still red and tender from road rash.

Ward chuckled and slapped his new partner on the back. "We'll get you back in shape, the _right_ way. No more 7 mile foot pursuits for you for a while."

Ronan snorted out a laugh, "I don't think I could do that again if I tried. Tequila and blind stupidity fueled that chase."

Ward laughed out loud at that. "Well regardless, me and you," he pointed back and forth between the both of them, "we need a few ground rules."

Ronan cocked his head. "Rule number one," Ward held up a single finger. "Use your goddamn radio, and answer me when I call you!"

Ronan smiled and nodded, "okay, agreed. Rule number two?"

Ward's face went serious. "Ease up on the drinking. No more working your shift drunk or hungover. The Orc already got me shot once, I don't need to get shot again because my new partner is too inebriated to comprehend his surroundings. I've got a little girl waiting for me to come home every night, and I'd like to not disappoint her."

"I've never done a shift that drunk." Ronan scoffed. "I didn't know you had a daughter, how old is she?"

"She just turned eight. Love of my life that girl."

Ronan smiled, "I like kids, but they are always terrified of me. Won't come near me."

"Well my daughter would probably rub your belly all day and treat you like her own pet dog. She's been obsessed with werewolves since she was like four. She's already been begging me to meet you, she thinks it's amazing that I have a wolf for a partner." Ward chuckled at the memory of his daughter jumping up and down with joy when he told her he was partnered with a wolf.

"I'd like to meet her, if that's okay with you?"

Ward looked at him, slightly confused. "I thought that shit was insulting to your kind? Having a human treat you like a common pet dog? Hell your civil rights movement was almost bigger than the Orcs."

Ronan shrugged his shoulders. "Some wolves care, most don't. It doesn't bother me at all, Landon either. And I don't think Riley minds very much either. But Layla? Shit, don't even call her a wolf, she'll jump down your throat so fast! She is a 'living being with human intelligence that deserves the same rights and respect'. She's nuts." He chuckled. "I myself do not mind a belly rub and some fetch with a kid. I guess I'm just more animal than human."

Ward hesitated, "how about we make sure your hallucinations are completely past you first?"

Ronan nodded, "fair enough."

There was a long pause between the two of them before Ronan cocked an eyebrow at Ward, "Jakoby got you shot?"

Ward snorted, "yeah, he was so worried about what kind of sauce I wanted for my burrito he was completely oblivious to the Orc with the shotgun charging me."

Ronan huffed out a growl, "pigfaced dumbass. Well that's one of the useful things about us wolves. I can smell gun powder from 500 yards out, drugs of any kind from a mile. Orcs always brag about having heightened senses, but they're nothing compared to us. After all, humans couldn't have made the bloodhound without the wolf." Ronan smiled at Ward, thoroughly pleased with his superiority over an Orc.

Ward 'Hmmed' a response. "Well it was a long time ago, and Jakoby is a lot less green now."

Ronan's face fell a little, he was hoping that Ward would rip on the Orc too. Clearly they were closer friends than Ronan realized.

"Alright crew!" Hillman called attention to the room after she had finished her conversation with Lieutenant Harper and Captain Perez. The superiors glanced over at Ward and Ronan and gave them a nod before exiting the debriefing room.

"What was that about?" Ronan questioned the superior's acknowledgement.

"Probably for your award" Ward answered him flatly. Ronan whipped his head around to face his new partner.

"What award!?" His voice was shocked and horrified.

"Assignments for today," Hillman raised her voice, demanding full attention.

Ward shook his head at the wolf, signaling they would talk more about it later.

"Samuels and Landon, Hollywood. Davidson and Quinn, the Junctions. Kent and Riley, University Park. Richards and Hunter, Downtown. Munson and Layla, the Heights. Nicholson and Dexter, Chinatown. And Ward and Ronan, our newest team, Santa Monica. Any questions?"

Muttered 'no's filled the room. "Then get your shotguns, radios, and deploy. Let's try to have a quiet day today people." Hillman sounded exhausted.

The teams began to gather their things and head to the weapons dispensary and out to the cars.

Ward and Ronan exchanged an amused glance, "a day by the ocean doesn't sound so bad." Ronan offered.

Ward rolled his eyes, "middle of summer and tourist season, what could go wrong?"

/

The sun was beginning to set before Ward and Ronan finished their last call and began to pack up to head back to Precinct 1.

"What a stupid day," Ward sighed, thoroughly exhausted.

Ronan yawned with a thunderous roar, "are your patrols always like this?"

"Pretty much. Stupid calls and dumbass people."

During their first full day of partnership they pulled over five drunk drivers, broke up seven fights over public beach space, arrested two for indecent exposure, arrested another nine for public disturbances including fist fighting, destruction of property, and possession of illegal substances.

Their final arrests for the day, two Orcs selling cocaine on the strip. They thought they had the officers fooled, dressed like wealthy upstanding citizens just enjoying a day at the beach, but nothing got past Ronan's nose. He could smell the drugs before he even saw the dealers. The two Orcs were now cuffed in the back of their truck and Ronan and Ward were getting back on Interstate 10 to head home.

"You know in retrospect," Ward laughed, "today was actually a pretty normal day."

Ronan sighed in agreement, "no crime bosses or magic encounters. So this is what normal police work feels like!"

"Man I've missed normal."

"Try writing parking tickets for a whole year." Ronan snorted. "Today was a rush! Goddamn my feet hurt." He looked down at his red and aching paw pads.

"So you're the mutt that took down Julio King?" One of the Orcs from the back of the car spoke up.

Ronan stiffened, but did not respond.

"Clan blood is coming for you, pup. You better watch your back."

Ronan turned toward the back of the car and snarled, "and you best not threaten a police officer, pigface grunt."

"Hey hey, okay now. Easy Ro, he's just trying to get in your head."

Ronan snorted and growled in aggravation.

"Boy you gotta get control of that temper." Ward chuckled at him.

"You don't take down Julio King without any kind of blowback," the other Orc said. "There will be consequences for your actions, mutt."

"Hey! I suggest you shut your ugly face before this wolf jumps through that barrier and rips into your neck." Ward snapped.

The Orcs finally went quiet, but Ronan continued his low menacing growl.

Ward took the exit off of Interstate 10 and began winding through Downtown towards the Precinct. They stopped at a red light where a group of Orcs were standing at the street corner, drinking and shouting at their car, they were Fogteeth most likely. Ronan offered them a glance of disgust, Ward didn't even bother to look over. The Orcs in the back of the car started to laugh and speak to each other in Orcish.

"Shut the fuck up back there," Ronan snarled. The Orcs just continued to laugh.

From the street, Ronan caught movement out of the corner of his eye. One of the biggest, ugliest Orcs in the small crowd threw something at the their patrol car. It entered through the open window and landed in Ronan's lap. The wolf looked down confused. It was about the size of a baseball, though more oval in shape, and military green.

Ronan's eyes widened in terror. "Grenade!" He roared. He shoved Ward on the shoulder, urging him to jump out of the car. Ward leapt out of the truck like his ass was on fire. Ronan scrambled for the door handle and managed to open it and get the front half of his body out of the car before the grenade detonated. The squad car erupted into a ball of flames and was launched a good 20 feet into the air from the force of the explosion.

Ward had tucked and rolled, managing to shield himself from the blast. He watched from a safe distance as their truck flipped and landed upside down with a deafening crash. The Orcs from the street corner rushed to the car and pulled their cuffed friends out of the backseat, both were still alive miraculously. The all piled into a black Escalade and took off.

Ward watched the fire consume their car into ash, he breathed a sigh of relief that he was alive and unharmed before he realized his wolf was nowhere to be seen.

"Ronan!" He shouted at the top of his voice. Ward pushed himself up off the ground, he was sore and a little scraped up from the pavement, but otherwise fine.

He squinted around the flames of the burning car and shouted again. "Ronan! Where are you!?" Ward hobbled towards the car, he got as close as he could and peered into the wreckage, hoping to God he wouldn't see the charred body of his giant wolf stuck in the car. It was empty.

"Ronan where the fuck are you!?" he screamed.

"Here" the voice was weak and sputtered with coughing. Ward looked around frantically for the source of the voice. "Here." It said again.

Finally, he spotted Ronan slowly heaving himself up from the other side of the street. The hood of the car next to him was caved in, he must have landed on it from being thrown from the blast. Ward rushed over to him. The wolf was hacking and coughing hard.

"Ronan" Ward started coughing too, choking on the smoke from the burning car. "Ronan, get your vest off. It's on fire." Ward began unsnapping and pulling the vest of his partner. Ronan tried to shake the fog out of his head and stand.

When Ward tried to pull the vest off Ronan's shoulders, the wolf roared out in pain. He instinctively jumped back, when a four thousand pound animal roars like that, it's hard not to react in fear.

Ward rebounded quickly and went back to the side of his wolf. "Your shoulder is burned pretty badly. But I gotta get the vest off Ro." He tried to sound comforting.

Ronan nodded pathetically. Ward gripped the melting vest tightly, he didn't even bother counting off. He pulled it as hard as he could in one fluid motion. The vest separated from the wolf's skin. Ronan managed to bite back another guttural roar. In the distance they could hear sirens over the crackling of the burning car.

"God dammit dog," Ward coughed out. "Is it going to be like this every time we are out on patrol together!?"

"I hope not" Ronan muttered weakly. He had stopped trying to get up. Ward sat down on the ground next to him. He scrutinized the burn on the wolf's shoulder.

"That burn is bad."

"Hey, at least I'm not in the squad car" Ronan laughed and hacked from deep in his lungs.

Ward chuckled and sputtered a cough, "true story."

The cavalry finally arrived at the scene. Two fire trucks and ambulances, and a half dozen squad cars. The firemen immediately got to work putting out the car fire and Ward waved the paramedics over. "Hey! Over here!" The medics ran over to them, and ironically, the same veterinarian that treated Ronan for his heat stroke stopped in front of them.

"Really?" She looked at the pair in surprise. "Again?"

"At least he's not dying this time." Ward jutted a thumb towards his wolf, who was awake and conscious, although burned and coughing badly.

The vet put an oxygen mask over Ronan's face, and one of the human medics did the same for Ward.

They sat leaning against the dented car in the burning and cluttered street as their vitals were taken and injuries analyzed.

Ward caught sight of Sergeant Hillman charging towards them, with Captain Perez trailing closely behind her.

"Uh oh," Ward mumbled through his oxygen mask. "We're in trouble big man."

Ronan laughed, but it quickly turned into coughing.

"You two," Hillman huffed out, pointing back and forth between Ward and Ronan, her frustration level through the roof. "Are going to be my problem children, aren't you?"

Ronan laugh coughed, "not on purpose Sarge. We just seem to be the popular kids lately."

"Shut it Trager, or I'll put you back on parking tickets for the rest of your life."

Captain Perez decided it was time to intervene. "Hey, Turner and Hooch, what happened?"

Ward shrugged, "we stopped at a redlight with two Orc Perps in the backseat. Fogteeth group were loitering on the street corner. Next thing I know Ronan is shouting grenade and shoving me out of the car. I tuck and roll and the car goes up in flames."

"I landed there," Ronan pointed to the caved in hood of the Lexus they were leaning against. Perps survived, they were dragged away by their buddies. Jumped into a black Escalade, no plates."

"Retaliation for Julio King?" Perez questioned.

"Most likely." Ronan shrugged, and then hissed in pain. The burn on his shoulder was bad.

The vet, Dr. Vicki Knight they had finally learned, spoke up. "They are both going to have to go to the hospital for breathing treatments, and Cujo here is probably going to spend a week in the burn unit."

Ronan's head shot up like a firecracker. He pulled the oxygen mask off his face and looked dead into Dr. Knight's eyes. "I will _NOT_ be spending a single day in that hospital. You can patch up my shoulder, but that's it." He turned to Sergeant Hillman and Captain Perez. "I am not staying."

The superiors both rolled their eyes, "how about we just get you to the hospital and we'll go from there?" Perez said.

"Hospital sounds good thanks." Ward mumbled through his oxygen mask.

Ronan groaned as he lifted himself off the pavement and onto a waiting stretcher. "That's because you didn't spend a week there tripping balls off nothing."

"Hey, it's not my fault you thought you could run like Secretariat." Ward quipped back at him while he was shuffling himself onto his own stretcher.

Hillman rubbed her temples with frustration, "will you please just take dumb and dumber to the hospital. We'll meet you there for formal statements."

"You want my formal statement!" Ronan shouted at her. He was just being a jackass now, for fun. "I've been ran to the brink of death and blown up all in the span of 3 weeks! I want parking duty back! The shit I do for this Precinct!"

The vet and paramedic loaded the wolf into an ambulance and slammed the doors, effectively cutting off his tyrant about dying for the LAPD.

Hillman and Perez stepped up next to Ward on his stretcher, waiting to be loaded into another ambulance. "If you think for one minute you are going to be able to keep that dog in the hospital any longer than 12 hours, ya'll are going to have four thousand pounds of raging mutt come at you with teeth and claws." He chuckled as the paramedics loaded him up and shut the doors.

Hillman and Perez exchanged exhausted glances.

"Rock paper scissors for who gets to deal with Cujo?" Perez laughed.


	4. Chapter 4

Ward woke with a start the next morning. He laid still for a moment, wondering what had startled him. The heart rate monitor beeped softly next to him, and his arm ached where the IV was inserted. The doctors decided both he and Ronan had to stay at least 24 hours for observation. That didn't bother Ward at all, Ronan had to be tranq'd and restrained again.

He moved his eyes lazily around his small hospital room. He found Sherri curled up asleep next to him in the visitors chair, her hair covering her face. He smiled at her from behind the oxygen mask over his mouth and nose.

A thunderous roar echoed from down the hall. Sherri jumped awake in her chair, "what the hell was that!?" She half shrieked, half squealed.

Ward sighed and shook his head, "I guess the tranqs wore off."

" _I AM NOT STAYING!"_ the angry voice snarled. It was loud enough that it sounded like he was just on the other side of the door.

Sherri curled herself tightly in a ball in the chair, "he's not dangerous? Is he?" She was hesitant to ask, fearing her husband's answer.

"Well he ain't no pomeranian, that's for sure." Ward pulled the oxygen mask down off his face. "But dangerous, no. At least not to humans, Orcs are a different story." He chuckled, and it turned into coughing once again, so he replaced the oxygen mask back over his mouth and nose.

Another roar came from the hall, this time definitely closer to Ward's room. He was loose, and he was angry. Sherri tensed at the noise of the enraged wolf, Ward knew he just needed to be talked down. Ronan was a little hot headed and irrational at times, but not stupid. Soon they could hear the massive footsteps of the wolf out in the hall, his claws tapped ominously on the linoleum floor. They stopped, and the heavy breathing of sniffing and huffing was right outside the door. Sherri shuddered at the sound.

"I'm in here big man." Ward called for his partner. A moment later the door slowly swung open, and the enormous silhouette of Ronan filled the space. Sherri shifted uncomfortably in her seat. Ward grabbed the hospital remote and brightened the lights in the room. Ronan blinked hard and recoiled for a moment as his eyes adjusted to the light. Ward gave his wolf a long scrutinizing look, and boy was he a sight to see.

An oxygen mask of his own hung from around his neck, with the tubing still attached and dragging on the ground, most likely ripped right out of an oxygen tank. The same went for the IV in his right front leg. Tubing ripped out of whatever bag of fluids he was receiving, and now he was slowly dripping blood all over the floor. Broken chains hung from the restraints still attached to his front and back legs, and one single tranquilizer dart stuck out from the meat on his left shoulder. One dart wasn't even enough to make him groggy, let alone bring him down.

Ward stared at his partner in utter shock, he looked like an escapee from the Psych Unit. Sherri sat stone solid in her chair, paralyzed in fear. If Ward hadn't known the dog well enough, he probably would have been terrified too.

"Ronan! What the fuck are you doing man!?" Ward shouted at him, he once again pulled the oxygen mask off his face. "You're bleeding all over the floor!"

Ronan huffed loudly in annoyance. "They want me to stay in the Burn Unit for 3 weeks." He sounded a little high and groggy, but not crazed like when he was after the stroke. "I am leaving. There is no way in hell I am staying in this hospital one more minute." His voice became louder and more of a growl as he spoke.

"Dude." Ward gave him a pointed look. "First impressions man. This is my wife, Sherri." He gestured to the woman sitting next to him, trying to make herself as small as possible.

Ronan's gaze followed his gesture and his eyes fell on Ward's wife for the first time. Immediately the wolf's tense body softened, the low growl rumbling from his chest stopped, and his eyes brightened. "Mrs. Ward," Ronan sounded like a child that had been caught doing something very naughty. "It's very nice to meet you finally."

Ronan lowered his head and glanced quickly at Ward, as if asking for permission to enter the room. Ward gave him a nod, and Ronan walked in slowly, dragging the oxygen tube and bleeding IV line along with him. He stopped at the other side of Ward's bed.

"Sherri, this is my partner, Ronan. He may look like a big brute, but he's as harmless as a fruit fly." Ward smiled at his wife, Ronan gave him a side glare, he was certainly not as harmless as a fruit fly.

Sherri swallowed hard, trying to regain her composure. She unfolded her legs from underneath her and let her feet hit the ground. "Ronan," she stuttered out nervously. "You're bleeding."

Ronan looked down at his leg with the remaining pieces of IV still inserted into his vein and the small pool of blood that had formed next to his foot. "Oh yeah," he half laughed, like he had just remembered it was there, "I ripped it out I guess."

Sherri used the arms of the chair to force her body into a standing position. She hesitated before moving to the end of the bed to get a closer look at the wolf. Ronan watched her movements with curiosity. Ward did the same.

"Can I help you?" Sherri gestured to his leg. It was then Ronan realized she was wearing very wrinkled scrubs, and he remembered Ward telling him his wife was a nurse at this hospital. Ronan was a little taken aback by the offer, but he remembered Ward's words ' _first impressions'_ and decided to be on his best behavior.

"Uh, sure." He replied, as gently as he could. "Thank you." He sat down with a heavy thud. The movement made Sherri jump in surprise.

"Sorry" Ronan offered sheepishly.

Ward chuckled a little, "he's a big boy, ain't he Sher?"

Sherri smiled, "that's an understatement."

Ronan cocked his head in bewilderment. "Nice, fat jokes. I see how it is." He slid the front half of his body down to the ground and laid down as softly as possible. He still made the floor shake a little, but Sherri didn't jump this time. She moved towards the cabinets on the opposite wall and pulled out some gauze and bandage material. She also grabbed a few absorbent bed pads. Sherri turned towards the wolf and was surprised to see that even laying completely down on the floor, his head was still at eye level for her. That unnerved her a little bit, but her nursing instincts overpowered her uneasiness around the massive animal. She slowly made her way towards Ronan, both the wolf and her husband watched her intently. She threw the bed pads on top of the pool of blood and then turned to face her patient.

"There is a dart in your shoulder, can I pull it out?" She swallowed hard again.

"Oh they did manage to hit me once, huh." Ronan lowered his head to the ground and Sherri quickly reached over his massive shoulders and extracted the dart from his flesh.

She set the dart on the bedside tray with a clank. "Okay, let's get this IV cleaned up." Ronan stretched out his right front leg towards her. Sherri faltered for a moment, she was going to have to kneel down on the ground to take care of his IV. Ward sensed her apprehension.

"He's not going to do anything babe." Ward reassured her. "Wolves are nothing like Orcs. They value humans and respect us greatly."

Ronan nodded his head in agreement. "True story. It's like our absolute law. We do not endanger or harm humans, ever."

Sherri smiled at the enormous wolf laying in front of her. Slowly, she reached her hand out towards Ronan's head. The wolf studied her for a moment, and then realized what she was asking. He obligingly moved his head forward, his forehead making contact with the palm of her hand. She gasped in surprise, and then ran her fingers through his plush thick coat. Sherri smiled brightly at the interaction. She visibly relaxed as she lovingly pet Ronan's head.

Ward watched their interaction from his bed, smirking. "I thought petting was degrading?" He finally spoke up. Sherri's eyes widened and she moved to pull her hand away, but Ronan just moved his head closer to her.

"For some wolves that are all high and mighty it is," Ronan snarked back at Ward. "I personally enjoy it very much." He made a sound of contentment, almost like a purring cat.

"You try this with Layla and she'll take your hand off." Ronan huff laughed.

"Layla?" Sherri questioned.

"Only bitc— I mean female wolf, on the force." Ronan replied, catching his vulgar language. "She's real big into the wolf Civil Rights movement. Thinks she's a human herself. Got a stick up her ass the size of pick-up truck. She can't stand me." Ronan laughed.

"Why's that?" Sherri questioned, still running her fingers through his fur. She was now thoroughly enthralled with Ronan.

"Because I'm an animal, and I accept that I'm an animal, and she can't stand that." Sherri laughed with him this time.

"Okay big man, let's get this leg cleaned up." She dropped down to her knees next to the giant wolf and began peeling off the tape that was securing the IV to his leg. In one fluid, practiced motion she extracted the IV needle from his vein and immediately covered the tiny hole with gauze and applied pressure. Ronan watched her work on his leg, laying quiet and still. It didn't hurt. He had just been blown up by a grenade, an IV pinch was nothing.

Sherri scrutinized his burned shoulder as she continued to hold pressure on his leg. "This burn is pretty bad Ronan, maybe you should stay in the Burn Unit for a little bit."

Ronan snorted defiantly, "I told them I would come back every day and let them clean it and rebandage it, but I'm not being admitted." He tried to keep his voice pleasant, but the very thought of staying in the hospital again boiled his blood.

Sherri wrapped a layer of tape around his leg to keep the gauze in place and she stood from the floor. "Well you at least can't leave until the doctors give your lungs another check." Ronan nodded in compliance, and Ward nonchalantly slipped the oxygen mask back over his face.

As if on queue, the hospital room door flung open and three security guards with rifles at the ready burst into the room, with a team of nurses and doctors behind them. They spotted Ronan lying calm and relaxed sprawled out on the floor, but they didn't even hesitate. The guards shot 4 darts into his chest immediately. Ronan roared in anger and began to stand. The darts slowed him, but still didn't bring him down.

"No! No! C'mon you don't have to do that!" Ward shouted. "He was just laying there, he was fine!" Sherri retreated back into a corner, as far away from the wolf and the guards as she could get.

Ronan swayed on his feet, but snarled at the security guards and medical staff, baring his razor sharp teeth menacingly at them.

Ward ripped off his oxygen mask and moved to get out of bed. "Stop! You don't have to treat him like this! He was fine!" Ward stood next to his wolf and put a hand on his shoulder to try and soothe him. The unexpected touch startled the wolf, and in his inebriated state he turned towards Ward and snapped at him. His jaws coming together sounded like two semi trucks hitting each other head on, the noise echoed through the room. Thankfully, Ronan's reflexes were slow and Ward was able to jump out of the way just in time. The wolf's eyes were dilated and blank, he probably had no idea he just came centimeters from taking Ward's arm off.

"They took his IV out!" A nurse standing in the doorway screeched.

"Hit him again!" A doctor shouted, panic in his voice.

The security guards aimed for Ronan again and put two more darts into his chest. Ronan roared again with rage, then he went quiet and still for a moment, swayed on his feet, and finally collapsed to the floor.

Ward stared at his unconscious wolf for a long moment before looking up and meeting the doctor's eyes. "That was totally fucking unnecessary." He spat. "He was alert and responsive. He was sitting here talking to us. He was totally fine."

"He broke out of restraints, ripped out his IV and took his hospital room door off the hinges. How were we supposed to know you calmed him down!? We had a loose four thousand pound monster with a known history of aggression running around the hospital!"

Ward sighed in frustration, "I didn't know he took the door off the hinges."

The doctor sighed too, "Officer Ward, the truth is, this is getting troublesome. We do not have the capability to handle an animal like Ronan. He is unpredictable, and way too large for anyone to control."

Ward stared at the doctor in bewilderment, "but you have to treat him! Where is he going to go for the burn treatment!?"

The doctor shook his head, "the Veterinarian will have to make house calls, but Ronan cannot come back to this hospital. He almost killed a nurse when he was here after the stroke. We just don't have the facilities to keep him and our staff safe."

"He's not as dangerous as you make him out to be, you people just treat him like shit!" Ward snapped.

"Honey," Sherri soothed, "c'mon, get back in bed. There's nothing else that can be done now."

The doctor nodded in agreement. "I'm sorry Officer Ward, but we are not a Werewolf equipped hospital. Once he's conscious we'll discharge him. Jack," the doctor motioned for one of the security guards. "Put the muzzle and chains on him."

"You are not going to muzzle him!" Ward moved to jump out of bed, but his wife stopped him.

"Just, let them do what they have to honey." She patted his chest lovingly.

The security guard hesitantly kneeled down next to Ronan and slipped a steel muzzle over his jaws. He fastened the leather strap tightly around the back of his head before moving on to restrain his legs. These new chains were not the padded hospital restraints that Ronan kept breaking out of, they looked like huge shackles an inmate of a maximum security prison would wear. Jack put a cuff around each of Ronan's wrists and ankles, and then secured them all together with heavy chains and padlocks. The wolf wouldn't even be able to stand, let alone break out and get away.

Ward shook his head in anger and disappointment as his partner lay on the floor passed out and chained like a wild animal.

"I'm sorry it had to be like this," the doctor sighed. "Your nurse will be in to check your carbon dioxide levels, and then you will be discharged."

/

The next morning Ward pulled up in front of the eight large apartment buildings that made up the Wolf Housing Projects. He parked his Suburban on the street and made his way through the dusty and desolate courtyard in the middle of the apartment buildings. Several young wolf pups were wrestling in the dirt or kicking around a soccer ball. They all stopped to watch curiously as Ward made his way towards the buildings. More than half of the K-9 Unit squad lived in these projects, so the residents were used to seeing Cops come and go, but Ward was a new face.

"Hey kids!" Ward waved at the pups, "hot day today."

The pups all cocked their heads at him, staring quietly. A silver grey pup finally spoke up, "our sprinkler is broken." he said rather dejectedly.

Ward stopped in front of the group of pups, "well hey. How about I take a look at it after I'm done talking to Ronan?" Several of the pups perked up and yipped with glee. He didn't have the heart to tell them that their water was probably turned off so Elftown had all the luxuries they required.

"Does anybody know which building Ronan Trager lives in?" Ward addressed the pups.

The smallest of the group pointed toward the middle building. "Apartment 412" she whimpered. "Are you really gonna fix our sprinkler?"

"I'm sure gonna try sweetie." he frowned and patted the pup's head. "I'll be back in a little bit." Ward followed the little pup's directions and headed for the building she identified as Ronan's. The entryway doors were propped open with rocks in an attempt to cool down the building, so Ward walked in with a little caution. Even though he was a human and wearing an LAPD t-shirt today, these wolves didn't know who he was. The hallway was empty, and he turned the corner to find the stairs. He hopped up them at a slower pace, lungs still a little sore from smoke inhalation. When he reached the 4th floor, he ran into an older grey wolf coming out of another apartment.

"Officer" the grey wolf nodded politely at him. "You looking for Ronan Trager?"

"I am" Ward replied, smiling back at the elderly wolf.

The grey wolf pointed down the hall, "412, on the left."

"Thank you sir," Ward nodded and continued on his way. He came to the door of apartment 412 and knocked loudly, hoping Ronan wasn't dead to the world asleep. A few moments past and Ward knocked again, this time even harder.

"I'm coming!" Ronan's angry voice snarled from inside the apartment. He heard heavy movement before the door finally jerked open. Ronan's face turned from annoyed to surprised in a split second. "Ward, hey. What are you doing here?"

"Checking up on you big man. Did the vet come yet?"

"Yeah she was here this morning," Ronan paused awkwardly. "C'mon in." He opened the front door wider and allowed Ward to enter his apartment. Ward took a few steps in and was completely shocked at the sight before him. Ronan's apartment looked exactly like his 90 year old Grandma's apartment. Salmon pink walls, green shag carpeting, floral upholstered furniture, tacky paintings of birds and flowers in vases hung in various places on the walls, fake silk houseplants tucked in the corners. Ward could do nothing but gawk comically at the small one bedroom apartment.

"Wow Ronan," Ward finally composed himself and began to chuckle. "I love what you've done with the place. I didn't know you had such sophisticated taste."

Ronan rolled his eyes and groaned, "shut up alright? It was my Mom's place and I haven't gotten around to doing anything to it."

Ward couldn't help but smile stupidly at huge, monsterous, intimidating Ronan living in an old lady's apartment.

"You want a beer?" Ronan called from the kitchen which was covered in floral wallpaper and had yellow linoleum counter tops with faded sky blue cabinets.

Ward tried his hardest to suppress more chuckles. "It's 9:30 in the morning man" he finally managed to choke out.

Ronan gave him pointed look, "are you working today?"

There was a long pause before Ward answered, "sure, why the hell not." Ronan grabbed two beers from the fridge and made his way into the living room toward the couch. The only thing updated in this apartment that was frozen in the 70's was the TV and sound system. A beautiful 50 inch flatscreen TV was perched on a stand in the corner, with a soundbar and extra speakers surrounding it on all sides. Ronan handed a beer to Ward and flopped down on the couch. He hit the remote and football appeared on the screen.

Ward sat down next to the wolf on the couch covered in roses. The wolf grabbed a bottle opener off the coffee table in front of them and popped open his beer. He handed it to Ward who did the same.

"How's your breathing today?" Ronan asked, not taking his eyes off the TV.

"Better" Ward answered. "Not so hard to take a deep breath. How about you?"

"Still coughing pretty good. The vet made me sit with oxygen on while she treated my shoulder."

"How's the burn today?"

"Hurts like a sonuvabitch" Ronan snorted. "But I let her debride it and treat it without a fight."

"Good man," Ward took a long swig of his beer. "Did I.A. tell you how long you were going to be off?"

Ronan shook his head, "no. I haven't heard from Internal Affairs. I figured I'd be back to work on Monday." His brow furrowed in confusion, "why? Did I.A. tell you something different?"

"No" Ward answered quickly. "I haven't heard anything from them."

"I mean the hospital cleared us." Ronan stated flatly. "There is nothing wrong with us. I can work with a burn on my shoulder, it's not that bad."

Ward nodded, "then I assume we're back to work on Monday then." He took another long pull from his beer and sighed contently. "You feeling okay though?"

Ronan pulled his attention away from the TV and met Ward's eyes. "What do you mean?"

Ward shrugged, "they pumped you with some heavy sedatives man, I'm just asking if you feel alright."

Ronan contemplated a moment before answering. "Yeah, I feel fine I guess."

Ward nodded slowly, "so you don't remember snapping at me and almost ripping my arm off?"

Ronan's eyes widened in surprise and he set his beer down on the coffee table. "I did what!? I don't remember that at all!"

"Well in your defense you did have 6 darts in your chest." Ward chuckled. Ronan did not find it humorous at all. He looked absolutely horrified.

"Jesus Christ. I didn't get you did I?" His voice was high with alarm.

Ward laughed out loud, "Ro, if you would have 'got me' I'd be an amputee. I'm fine man." He slapped his wolf on the back, careful to avoid the bandaged burn area. Ronan's eyes were still wide with shock. "Dude you're reflexes were so slow, all you got was air. Don't worry about it."

Ronan swallowed hard, "damn I am not safe when they shoot me with those fucking tranquilizers."

"Yeah, you gave Sherri the scare of her life!" Ward chuckled.

Ronan's jaw dropped and his eyes widened even more. "Oh Christ your wife!" He lowered himself off the couch and began pacing the tiny living room, completely obstructing the view of the TV. "She hates me doesn't she? I almost took your arm off, of course she hates me!"

Ward sighed loudly and set his beer on the coffee table. "She doesn't hate you dude. Will you stop pacing!"

Ronan froze in his tracks and sat down with a heavy thud. "Sorry" he mumbled.

"Look Ro, I came here to check on you, but also to invite you over for dinner tonight."

Ronan cocked his head like a confused dog, "really? Over to your house?"

"Yeah man, we're barbecuing tonight" Ward nodded. "Sherri wants you to feel like you're a part of the family. You're my partner now, besides, don't you want to meet my daughter?"

Ronan perked up his ears and smirked a little. "Yeah I'd love to."

"Great" Ward slapped his knees and moved to stand. "I've got other errands to run so I'll see you later. Come to the house about 7?"

"Sure sure" Ronan swallowed nervously. He followed Ward to the front door to see him out.

"Alright, well you take it easy today and I'll see you tonight for dinner." Ward opened the door to leave, but stopped and turned back to face Ronan once more. "Oh and one more thing, Nick is coming over too!"

Ward couldn't help but smile as the look on his wolf's face changed from excitement to horror to rage in the span of 3 seconds. He shut the door on his partner and left.


End file.
